Manchester City face an anxious 48-hour wait before discovering the extent of
a hamstring injury that forced key striker Sergio Agüero out of the action
late in a routine 3-0 victory over Stoke on Tuesday.

Looking grim: Sergio Agüero is treated on the pitch at the Etihad StadiumPhoto: EPA

By Ian Whittell

6:35AM GMT 02 Jan 2013

Agüero, who scored his seventh league goal of the season, has been in superb form but is already out of Manchester City's FA Cup third-round tie against Watford on Saturday.

Manager Roberto Mancini claimed last night that the injury may not prove serious but his first-team coach, David Platt, revealed that it would be Wednesday before City’s medical staff could give management a precise diagnosis.

Platt also rated Agüero doubtful for City’s next league game, the visit to Arsenal a week on Sunday, paving the way for a possible first-team return for Mario Balotelli, the volatile Italian striker who has been sidelined over the holiday period with a virus.

“It’s bad enough that he won’t play on Saturday,” said Platt. “It’s difficult to assess an injury like that for how long it’s going to be. On Saturday, he will be out. He’ll be doubtful for Arsenal. It’s a hamstring. There are different degrees of hamstring, that’s why you need the 48 hours. We’ll just have to see.”

Platt added: “There will be swelling and bleeding so you need to give it time to settle down. It’s a blow but when you have so many games in a short space of time you run the risk of this.”

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Agüero has already had one extended spell on the sidelines this season, a knee problem ruling him out for just over a month in late August, and despite City’s apparent embarrassment of attacking riches, his absence would be keenly felt.

Mancini has a clear option to recall Balotelli, though the fiery striker was was shown a straight red card on his last appearance at the Emirates Stadium, for a late challenge on Bacary Sagna, last season.

“Mario is back on the training pitch, he’s trained for the last two or three days and he looks like he’s shaken the illness off,” explained Platt. “The problem that Mario had is that he was ill, he came back then he had a relapse with his illness.

“It looks like he’s got past that. He’s got two or three days on the training pitch. There’s every chance he’ll be available for selection come the weekend.”